Thrice Bitten, Never Shy
by Anthy
Summary: Fuji Syusuke has many loves, but which one will he choose?
1. Prologue

Author's Note: I don't know where this fic is taking me, but it'll be interesting to find out. Warning, I do have a bit of a bias on a certain character, but I'll try to keep it balanced. :-P  
  
Disclaimer: I lay no claim on creating the characters from Prince of Tennis.   
  
Prologue  
  
Two siblings with long brown hair sat in the semi-darkness of the room. Though their ages and genders where drastically different, there was nothing to distinguish them from the other. Both voices soft, feminine, and they both carried an air of devious intent.  
  
"I don't believe you." The young boy of ten whispered to the girl sitting beside him.  
  
"You do, trust me." His sister answered back.  
  
"Our whole family has gifts." Syusuke Fuji repeated his sister's previous announcement.  
  
"Every last one."   
  
"What's mine?" he asked eagerly.  
  
"You'll learn."  
  
"So, are you a know-it-all?"  
  
"A diviner."  
  
"A know-it-all."  
  
"Do you want a prediction, little brother?" she asked as she leaned back against her pillows.  
  
"Yes." Syusuke answered while his smile grew. "It sounds scary."  
  
"You are one for the dark things." The oldest Fuji chuckled, ruffling her brother's hair. "What do you wish to know?"  
  
"Who will I be?"  
  
"Someone great."  
  
"Like?"  
  
A brief pause. "Whomever you want to be . . ." She said as she furrowed her brow as the answer bombarded her mind.   
  
"You're playing me." Syusuke scoffed.  
  
"No I'm not." The girl whined. "I speak the truth. In your case, that question was too general. Something else."  
  
"You're not that good."   
  
"I'm learning." She snapped, throwing a pillow at his head. Syusuke caught it and sat it down for later use.  
  
"Who will I love then?" he challenged.  
  
"As many things in this family, it will come in three."  
  
"Three loves?"  
  
"Yes, you will love them and they in turn will return it. You shall hurt them, help them, lead and lie to them, and yet the love will be there. One will love you more, one less, and one stuck in between. They are all true loves in the sense that true love exists, and it will pain you to decide."  
  
Now he was interested. "Who are they?"  
  
She grinned. "It is not my place to say."  
  
"What are they like?"   
  
"Well, the first one you will know all of his-"  
  
"His?" he hissed, picking up the pillow and tossing it at his sister. She calmly caught it and placed it behind her head.  
  
"You'll like guys as much I will one day." She answered lightly.  
  
"Doubt it." Syusuke huffed, crossing his arms.  
  
"Can I go on?"   
  
"Fine."  
  
"You will know the first one all of his life." She paused as she waited for another interruption. Since his curiosity had once again taken hold, she continued. "However, this love you carry will be of the forbidden sort. Your attachment will borderline mere obsession, but it is a line you may never cross. Dire consequences-"  
  
"I like consequence-"  
  
"No. You must not break this. Protect his heart, though you will be the first to break it."  
  
"Then I will break the rule to break his heart." He argued.  
  
"No, you can do just the same by not doing, dear brother."  
  
"What about the second one?"   
  
"He's perfect. His beauty will surpass your own. Yes, boys can be beautiful. He will be royalty." She smiled as she imagined him. "The sun shines brightly upon his shoulders, he will be the pillar that many lean on. Though desired by many and befriends a few; you will become his prime confidant. The competition between you will be fierce, however."  
  
"What will we compete in?"  
  
"Everything. However, you will never win. Those that you can win, you will allow the prince to win anyhow."  
  
"Sounds fun."  
  
"And fun it will be. The third, well you forget there was a third already, haven't you?"  
  
Syusuke blinked. "A little."  
  
"He'll always stick in the back of your mind." She said cheerfully, shrugging as she continued. "Nothing extraordinary about him, quite simple. A man's man, so to speak. Hardworking, kind, unassuming and yet he will be very strong. There will be a hidden rage within him, and it will be up to you to help find his release."  
  
"By hurting him?" Syusuke asked, and even his sister was taken aback by the eagerness in his voice.  
  
"Maybe, but I don't see much pain between him and you. There will be pain--I do not deny this. You will have your time to torture him. By all appearances he will be timid, but his will is impossible to break. However, he's your confidant and best friend, you will complement each other well. Your hidden sides also."  
  
"I have a hidden side?" he asked sarcastically.  
  
"As does he." She sighed before pushing her brother off the bed. Any more questions and he would probably learn too much. "Now go to bed before Yuuta notices you are gone."  
  
"I want to hear more." Syusuke protested as he pulled himself up.  
  
"I don't want to hear him cry tonight. Go to bed."   
  
"Good night, sister." Syusuke said with a pout as he started to creep out of her room.  
  
"Sleep well, Syusuke."  
  
TBC. . .  
  
AN: Fixed Syusuke (also spelled Shuusuke in romaji). Will add Yumiko's name in the next chapter. Thank you Aki, Violintide, Hissori, Akari-sama, and Aishuu for pointing that out.   
  
Good night! 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Yumiko Fuji calmly sat at the kitchen counter as she sipped her coffee. Flipping through her self-prophecy binder, she wondered which course she would follow that day. It was large, and each day had index of alternate paths incase she tried to defy the original fate. Spending most of her childhood knowing exactly what would happen by each individual action, she found that indexing her year made it easier to focus on other people's lives.  
  
When you had a life with no surprises in store, you had to find other ways to stay entertained.  
  
Her brothers always had the ability to surprise her. The family genes and their individual gifts contributed. Not with tennis, that was just something that Syusuke choose one day to master, and Yuuta eagerly followed.  
  
In the beginning it was that Yuuta only wanted to be in his older brother's shadow, but over the years the teen wanted to shine on his own. His devotion made it quite difficult to turn against his brother, but Yumiko knew that this year at Seishun Gakuen would be the turning point.  
  
It was also time for Syusuke to come to other realizations as well.  
  
"Maybe today he'll find his prince," Yumiko muttered loudly, grinning as Syusuke entered the kitchen. Page 1105 it is, then.  
  
"Good morning, sister."  
  
"Good morning, Syusuke. Will you have another pet today?"  
  
"Yeah. I plan to stop at the green house today after tennis practice."  
  
"The tennis genius my clients love to hear about," Yumiko sighed. Walking over to her brother's side, she gave him a hug from behind. "They talk about you a lot at school, do they not?"  
  
"It is disappointing that it is rarely in my presence." Syusuke said, though the emotion never appeared on his face or in his voice. Yumiko loved Shusuke's mask and took great delight in trying to remove it. Ruffling his already wild hair, she made herself go limp, letting him support her whole weight.  
  
"The stress that it must bear on your younger brother to hear it all, day in and day out. You must feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders."  
  
"Only you, dear sister."  
  
Giggling, she up righted herself and returned to her coffee.  
  
"It must bother you that he won't tell you."  
  
A pause. "A little."  
  
"Surely he must tell someone. And he is growing to be very handsome. A girlfriend maybe?"  
  
The mask slipped briefly. His ocean-blue irises appeared before once again masked behind long lashes. "Of course not."  
  
"You're getting better, Syusuke." She smiled, turning to the door. "Better meet Kikumaru-san, he should be rounding the corner soon. Had a misunderstanding with his partner, possibly about the club president."  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Have you beaten the president yet?" She called out as he put on his shoes.  
  
A brief slip of the mask. "He's still a lot better than I am. I'm leaving for school."  
  
"Be safe." Yumiko said to the closing door. Turning to the hallway, she stated, "You're going to be late for morning practice again, Yuuta."  
  
"Pft." Yuuta muttered as he grabbed for a piece of toast. "I'll make it on time."  
  
"Running is good for you." She smiled. "Would you like advice for today?"  
  
"No."  
  
"A reading?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Fortune cookie?"  
  
"You know I don't go for that prophecy stuff." Yuuta muttered between bites. "I make my own future, not you."  
  
"That's right, you do. You know what your gift is yet?"   
  
"Beyond putting up with this family?"  
  
"Too soon for you."  
  
"You can be annoyingly vague when you want to."  
  
"I thought you didn't think I would know."  
  
"I thought you knew I don't care if you know or not."  
  
"Heh. I think I'll go to work now, before I start slipping more vague on you." Yumiko said cheerfully.  
  
"Bye." Yuuta said as he walked past her and out of the house. Sometimes she wondered about his unpredictable temperament, but more so she wondered which car would she get to drive today.  
  
Of course, the book said it would be blue. How boring. 


End file.
